Day trip from Seattle to Gamble or Wine Valley?

[Steve Y]

So I have a free weekend next weekend and was considering doing a day trip to either Gamble Sands or Wine Valley. Just wondering if anyone has done this and if it’s a good idea. Also, which course would you choose ? FYI yes I know it will be a long and tiring day

[Edaw68]

Slightly more scenic drive to Gamble Sands v Wine Valley. I haven't played either, so couldn't judge which course.

 

And of course its a good idea.

[CMCSGolf]

I've done a day trip to Gamble from Seattle and it was very doable. I left at 6AM, played 18 at 10:30 and was back home by 8. It actually wasn't that bad and I think it is a slightly better course.

 

If you want to hear something even crazier, the guys I was paired up with at Gamble lived in Renton and were playing 36 in one day and driving back. They were Boing guys who were used to waking up at 3AM, so they left then and played at 7AM and 10:30 before heading home. So it's doable!

[duffer987]

A couple years back I landed late at Seatac, drove out to Pateros, stayed there for the night. Played 36 (1 walking, 1 cart) at GS then drove to Vancouver, CA via Hwy 3.

Totally doable. And the tiring bit only comes after the golf. Do it :)

[leejohnkieh]

You'll have more fun at Wine Valley.

[duffer987]

You'll have more fun at Wine Valley.

 

Why?

[leejohnkieh]

Wine Valley is more of a challenge for my game. You play the banks on the green, placement off the tee, and you can be creative with your approach shots.

 

Gamble is still a great course but the course plays much easier. All your shots funnel either to the fairway or to the pin. It's cool to see your mishits/bad shots creep up to the hole but not when don't deserve it.

 

WV is also very fast and firm throughout the course but not penalizing like Shinnecock was lol

[duffer987]

Wine Valley is more of a challenge for my game. You play the banks on the green, placement off the tee, and you can be creative with your approach shots.

 

Gamble is still a great course but the course plays much easier. All your shots funnel either to the fairway or to the pin. It's cool to see your mishits/bad shots creep up to the hole but not when don't deserve it.

 

WV is also very fast and firm throughout the course but not penalizing like Shinnecock was lol

 

You game isn't his game ;)

I did find off the tee on a few holes at GS things would end up at the same spot regardless of tees played/club used and I will concede it's not that difficult, otherwise your description of WV matches what I experienced at GS. It was well firm and you can play all the banks and slopes you wanted to.

 

Haven't gotten to WV yet, but it's certainly near the top of my want-to-play-list.

[ryu123]

I've played 40+ rounds at Wine Valley vs 3 at Gamble Sands, so I'm biased in favor of Wine Valley.

 

Agree with leejohnkieh that WV is more fun, because its greens have more internal slope & contour and have sideboards & kickers that can propel the ball if placed accurately.

 

Gamble's greens are flatter & not as challenging.

 

Both have firm & fast turf and are walkable; Gamble a little easier. In my view both are in the top 5 courses in the state, along with Chambers Bay and Aldarra. So either way you'll have a great time.

 

(Walla Walla is a little farther from Seattle than Brewster.)

[duffer987]

^That's the main reason I've not got out there yet. From Seatac it's a real hike to get down there and then head up to Canada after that. It was long enough from GS.

I reckon I need to do a Portland trip and drive out to WV from there instead.

[leejohnkieh]

Wine Valley is more of a challenge for my game. You play the banks on the green, placement off the tee, and you can be creative with your approach shots.

 

Gamble is still a great course but the course plays much easier. All your shots funnel either to the fairway or to the pin. It's cool to see your mishits/bad shots creep up to the hole but not when don't deserve it.

 

WV is also very fast and firm throughout the course but not penalizing like Shinnecock was lol

 

You game isn't his game ;)

I did find off the tee on a few holes at GS things would end up at the same spot regardless of tees played/club used and I will concede it's not that difficult, otherwise your description of WV matches what I experienced at GS. It was well firm and you can play all the banks and slopes you wanted to.

 

Haven't gotten to WV yet, but it's certainly near the top of my want-to-play-list.

 

Sooner than later cuz it can get scorching hot out there. Or head out there in September.

[duffer987]

Wine Valley is more of a challenge for my game. You play the banks on the green, placement off the tee, and you can be creative with your approach shots.

 

Gamble is still a great course but the course plays much easier. All your shots funnel either to the fairway or to the pin. It's cool to see your mishits/bad shots creep up to the hole but not when don't deserve it.

 

WV is also very fast and firm throughout the course but not penalizing like Shinnecock was lol

 

You game isn't his game ;)

I did find off the tee on a few holes at GS things would end up at the same spot regardless of tees played/club used and I will concede it's not that difficult, otherwise your description of WV matches what I experienced at GS. It was well firm and you can play all the banks and slopes you wanted to.

 

Haven't gotten to WV yet, but it's certainly near the top of my want-to-play-list.

 

Sooner than later cuz it can get scorching hot out there. Or head out there in September.

 

'Fortunately' (not-fortunately) now living in Texas has toughened this PNW guy a bit for the hot weather - but duly noted, east of the Cascades can get a bit rough.

[Drofdarb23]

Have never played Gamble Sands but had the pleasure of playing at Wine Valley a couple weeks ago. Read plenty on here about how spectacular the course is and it did not disappoint!

 

Here's the Wine Valley Thread from a couple weeks ago: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1639666-links-golf-tips-wine-valley/ If you decide to play WV, I would recommend reading One Golfer's Travels Wine Valley Review which is linked to on that other thread. We had a blast!

[spud3]

Have never played Gamble Sands but had the pleasure of playing at Wine Valley a couple weeks ago. Read plenty on here about how spectacular the course is and it did not disappoint!

 

Here's the Wine Valley Thread from a couple weeks ago: http://www.golfwrx.c...ps-wine-valley/ If you decide to play WV, I would recommend reading One Golfer's Travels Wine Valley Review which is linked to on that other thread. We had a blast!

 

+1 on One Golfer's Travels review of WV. It's one of the best hole-by-hole reviews I've ever read.

 

And another +1 for WV. I absolutely loved it.

[CMCSGolf]

Both are good courses and I can't see how one is considerably better than the other. We all have preferences and I get that, but I can't see an argument that WV is much better than Gamble. Obviously you can't go wrong with wither choice and both are worth your time.

[BirdieRoll]

How does walking WV compare to GS? I found the walk at Gamble to be very enjoyable so wondering how the two compare.

[spud3]

Walking WV is certainly doable. There are a lot of ups and downs, but green-to-tee distances are fine. One thing to keep in mind is that there aren't any trees out there, so if it's sunny and hot, there's nowhere to hide and it will add significantly to the effort. Palouse Ridge is borderline unwalkable, given the elevations changes and distances between greens/tees, though the kids from the college walk it with their bags, so not impossible. 'Cougar Calves' are a very real thing...

 

I considered going up to Gamble when I did my recent road trip, but ultimately decided it was worth it's own trip. There's several other well-regarded courses nearby, enough to make it a destination trip. I generally like DMK courses, and GS looks spectacular from the photos.

[duffer987]

Well screw it, I don't see any easy way to get out to WV, so I'm just going to go ahead and do it on my next trip up to Vancouver via Seatac.

If anyone is interesting in a 7-something AM round at WV on August 11th, let me know.

[cwads12]

Damn! That's the weekend of our WW All City Tourney or I'd definitely join you.

[mukster]

I’ve played Wine Valley 4 or 5 times. One of my favorite WA courses. Walked it every time.

The greens can get VERY fast at times. Tee shots usually okay, every shot closer to the green is tougher than the previous.

 

[duffer987]

Damn! That's the weekend of our WW All City Tourney or I'd definitely join you.

Hey no prob :)

In the end I am going to play Chambers instead and save myself the return drive. I'll get there one day though.